Hate Selling a Horse!

So, Marcie has been on the market for a little over a month. Her ad in Stablemates and Stablemates.com expired last Friday.

I am so sick of the calls looking for a cheap horse. I'm sorry, but where I come from a $3000 horse IS a cheap horse! Especially a safe, well broken horse who is sound and ready to go.

Just got off the phone with a lady from Knoxville. Got her whole life story about her eldest son who was mentally & physically disabled and who sadly died three years ago. All of this to then dive into a story about how she plans - in two years - to open a therapeudic riding stable and is collecting full and half drafts to carry obese disabled people. Also heard the story of her TB gelding she was offered $20,000 and refused for sentamental reasons (again, in the circles I come from, that's not an expensive horse - maybe a local show horse but nothing fancy) so I'd know Marcie would go to a 'forever' home and be *one of* her babies in a barn of maybe 8-10 horses. She asked my price, I said her price has increased since the ad was published by $250 because of ongoing training and would increase the longer I had her. She was agast...she figured the price would decrease with time because I was wanting to 'get rid' of her. I explained price increases with training...as per usual...and I wasn't motivated to sell her at all. She then told me that my ORIGINAL price was more than she was looking to spend, but she'd speak to her son about it...

I just hope they don't haul their trailer all the way to me just to try to talk the price down. It is FIRM.

$3,000 is a BARGAIN for a quiet, broke, ready to ride horse!!! If she's going to open a therapeudic riding facility, tell her to get licensed first then when she spends $3,000 on a GREAT horse it will be tax deductable! Stick to your guns. Any time on or with the horse for training is $$$$$. She just doesn't know the horse industry that's all.

you are so right, jennifer. if they can't afford $3000 for a horse, you know they can't afford to feed it properly. sheesh, feeding a horse, trimming it's feet, vet bills, etc, etc....love does not feed a horse. i tried.

JJ - You've hit the nail on the head. Draft horses are very expensive to PROPERLY maintain. Marcie doesn't eat more ration than a normal horse, but she consumes enormous amounts of hay (hay is their main staple, they were bred to be hay kept). Right now, and in the forseeable future, hay is SO expensive. Dewormers? Double. Farrier care - even barefoot trims are usually $20 more for a draft, "just because". Tack? Specialty and therefore more expensive.

So when someone argues sale price...that's exactly where my head goes. I'd say just for hay and grain, Marcie costs me about $250 a month. So if you can't afford the initial investment, how on EARTH will you afford maintainance??

NewChick - great advice - I'll have to use that line on her!

Varisha - right on...I can already see the disbelief in their eyes when I send them packing...

I feel for you Kate, I just sold my horse trailer finally and it was a NIGHTMARE! The e-mails, the calls, it seems everyone wants something for nothing! One guy actually said to me "well I am not going to put horses in it so it should not cost as much" It was so stressful and took up so much of my time for nothing. TIRE KICKERS were a plenty! The horses are worse because you have to be so careful. You know something? There are NO cheap horses because what you have to do to maintain them is ongoing and god forbid something happens and you need serious vet care, medications, just the monthly expenses. Some just do not have a clue so stick to your guns. AND a horses price does increase with training, any real horse person knows that. The market right now is flooded up here with horses for sale and it happens every winter. Camps close, people do not want to winter as many, financial reasons, etc. etc. Good horse people know what a good horse is worth and if the price is fair will not even try to talk you down.
Sorry if I vented a little but I hope I never have to sell another horse trailer or horse in my life. And the horses are here to stay as godwilling as long as I can do it.
I have actually seen people go out and spend thousands, and I mean big thousands on horses and then complain because grain went up 50 cents a bag.
I will never understand it.....lol
Good Luck Kate and keep us posted.

I would snatch up a $3000 horse in a heart beat! I had the hardest time finding a horse in my price range of $2500 to $3000. We ended up paying $3800, and that was considered cheap! Sometimes I just wish I lived in a southern state!